Star Trek: Beyond What The Eye Can See STRANDED
by trekker26233
Summary: While Starfleet works to investigate the attack on COLUMBIA, Kagome & co. discover the wreck. Starfleet's 1 rule, the Prime Directive, states that people like Kagome cannot be allowed to find advanced technology at all costs...
1. Default Chapter

AUTHOR'S NOTE ======================  
  
I hope this one will be better than its prequel, since Inuyasha & co. will have a bigger role in this story. Shippo and Sango show up and I'll stop spoiling the story there.  
  
Questions and Comments: please refer to bhalpernbtfiloh.org or benjaminmaxwellhotmail.com (I check each every time I use the Internet.  
  
THE CATCH: you absolutely MUST make the subject of the emails with your questions and/or comments "Beyond What The Eye Can See" if you send it to benjaminmaxwellhotmail.com.  
  
Ah yes; the disclaimer: I own neither Star Trek nor Inuyasha. (Is this disclaimer original... or do I have to disclaim it too?) 


	2. Prologue

P R O L O G U E ==================  
  
A few hours after the end of "After the Noh Mask" (FanFic by Evl5011)  
Obsidian Order conference, aboard battleship Prakesh... somewhere in the Alpha Quadrant...  
  
"WE LOST CONTACT WITH AGENT FURDOR ONLY A SHORT WHILE AGO," began Gul Kemor. The Cardassian captain paced across the room. It was a considerably small room, and the twenty-or-so people had almost no elbow-room; considerably low-class given the importance of this meeting. Cardassia Prime (the Cardassian homeworld) was in shambles by the end of the Dominion War. Because of this, the legislative government of the Cardassian Union, a.k.a. the Detapa Council, was looking for a planet to temporarily relocate the survivors to while Cardassian society would be raised from the ashes. The Obsidian Order (the Cardassian intelligence bureau) was using its agents to find suitable planets beyond Cardassian space, and the loss of contact with an agent was unacceptable at this stage. "His last assignment," the gul continued, "was to the Gorma System in the Beta Quadrant. Not only that, but a Federation starship was present when it happened ! Fortunately, our own warship, the Grogeri, was also in the area when it happened, so we are still receiving information about that solar system. But the Federation ship complicates the situation."  
  
"Gul Kemor, is it not possible that the Starfleeters killed our agent? After all: their ship was in the area when it happened," prompted Glinn Tokn'd. Glinn Tokn'd had held a grudge against Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets ever since the end of the Occupation of Bajor, and he had blamed the Federation for everything that went wrong for his people since then, so his reaction was not unexpected.  
  
"Actually, Tokn'd, I had considered that possibility. And if Starfleet command discovers the presence– or former thereof –of our agents in their territory, we may have another conflict on our hands. And without the Federation's assistance, Cardassia will not be restored until much later than if we continue to have their support." Gul Kemor paused for effect, then continued: "perhaps it would be best to eliminate the evidence. But... will we win? Grogeri says the Starfleet ship is of the 'nebula' class design, a heavy cruiser in the Federation fleet. Fortunately, Grogeri is a Keldon –class vessel; he (reference to the ship) more than outguns the Federation ship ============================================================================ ===========  
  
"Gul" and "Glinn" are ranks in the Cardassian military that are equivalent to the ranks "captain" and "Lieutenant" in the modern US military 


	3. Chapter 1: The Attack

Chapter 1: THE ATTACK ===========================  
  
Several weeks after "Beyond What The Eye Can See" ended Orbiting the moon of Kagome's world Approx. 11 : 48 pm  
  
The unshielded Columbia rocked from the impact. The lights on the bridge flickered and went to a red hue.  
  
"Red alert! Battle stations! Damage report! Ensign Hall, what the hell hit us?!" The last thing Captain Ramon expected during a survey of a planet, inhabited by a pre-warp culture, was an attack. I shouldn't have put him on the spot like that. Poor kid. Ensign Gregory Hall was the last person who should have been on the bridge now. He was only here because the Academy required juniors to have two months of active duty before graduation, and Hall happened to be training for a position as an ops officer. Basically, he made sure the ship was working and if there was a problem it was his job to report it.  
  
"Damage report coming in. Warp drive is offline; hull breaches on decks 34 through 37. Engineering has been sealed off. Sensors are damaged near the deflector. Shields are up, but the deflector took damage. 12 casualties reported so far. The breached section has been sealed off. Life support also took damage. We are running on reserve power. Damn. They knew right where to hit us."  
  
"Do we have phasers?"  
  
"Yes, sir. But... sir? There's nothing to shoot at."  
  
"How is that possible?"  
  
"Well..."Hall swallowed. "at the academy, we had to study the situation on Minos; the Arsenal of Freedom thing. Uhhhh... The Enterprise was attacked by a cloaked drone while orbiting the planet. Maybe the Arsenal followed us out here. Divide and conquer."  
  
"Out here? I don't think a dead race can travel, let alone follow us all the way out to the middle of nowhere. How did Captain Picard get out of that fix?"  
  
"Commander La Forge was acting captain at the time. He... I can't remember what he did... he did something that revealed the cloaked probe... it wasn't a tachyon grid, though..."  
  
"The La Forge maneuver, perhaps?" Sark offered. "Commander La Forge took the Enterprise into the planet's atmosphere ––" BOOM! (another hit)  
"–– the atmospheric displacement revealed the probe when it followed them."  
  
"That's it!" Hall exclaimed. How typical. He had the idea when the captain needed it most, only to have it taken away from him by someone who just happened to be there.  
  
"Helm, best speed into the planet's atmosphere, and watch out for satellites. Let's see what happens. Sark, look for atmospheric disturbances, and target any relentlessly."  
  
"Captain, there is the risk of being detected by the satellites. We could potentially violate the Prime Directive."  
  
(The Prime Directive is a statue, or law, that prohibits all contact with a less advanced race or species. This is because technology is like magic to those who do not understand it. Starfleet personnel are required to obey this rule at all costs.)  
  
"Blast 'em." He didn't wait for Sark's response. They knew each other well enough to realize that the captain's present tone of voice meant that he wasn't listening to objections. Any objections. Ensign hall almost felt sorry for the poor satellites that were about to be fried by Columbia's phaser banks. Almost. Starfleet training and the war with the Borg had taught him to place his life above any inanimate object, and the lives of the crew above his own. Not because he was sitting on the lowest rung of the ladder of command, but because he was part of the crew, and each crewmember who pulled his own load made it that much easier for everyone else. Selflessness was a virtue in Starfleet. He still had the sad memories, remembering the USS Morningstar at starbase 312. The transporter officer of that ship, and one of his closest friends, had died there while he was beaming the crew of the dying ship onto the Enterprise so they could escape death, or worse, at the hands of the Borg at the beginning of the first war; then, after his transfer, he remembered watching the Third Fleet's annihilation from the bridge of the USS Alleghany as the crippled ship limped into orbit around a secluded planet in Borg space. Funny how the Enterprise tended to show up to save the day. Maybe I can request transfer to the Enterprise! Then the day would be saved before the catastrophe happened and anyone got killed!  
  
On the viewscreen, the moon moved off-screen to one side and the planet rotated peacefully beyond, its terminator almost facing the Columbia and its night-side lit with scattered city lights. Then it slowly widened across the viewscreen, growing ever bigger, its artificial satellites steadily appearing and some of them exploding under Sark's relentless barrage. the ship dipped and dove toward the planet. 


	4. Chapter 2: The Battle

title CHAPTER 2: THE BATTLE title =  
"…does anyone know where the love of G-d goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours…"  
  
–– "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" –– Gordon Lightfoot  
  
u Meanwhile . . .  
In the upper atmosphere . . . u  
  
"Captain! It worked! Just like the textbook said it would!" reported Hall from his station at ops.  
  
"We are being attacked by a Cardassian battle-cruiser. The target's cloaking device has taken damage, but we are still outgunned," Sark reported from the tactical console.  
  
"Prepare for saucer-separation." Ramon tapped the intercom button on his captain's chair. "All hands clear the separation corridors! Prepare for saucer separation!"  
  
(Several classes of Starfleet ships have a large, prominent saucer module that is capable of separating from the rest of the ship, effectively providing a armed and shielded escape pod that can protect the entire crew in the event of attack; a second-to-last resort, and a "flying saucer" when traveling through an atmosphere. However, its warp-speed capacity is limited.)  
  
"Commander Boslin, you have the conn." ("you have the conn" has 2 possible meanings: a) "take the helm [pilot's station] OR b) "you're in command until I come back". In this case, it is definition 'b')  
  
"Aye, sir" the first officer scooted into the captain's center seat.  
  
Then the captain tapped his combadge: "Lieutenant Hawkins, report to the battle bridge immediately" and he entered the turbolift . (The battle bridge is an auxiliary bridge located in the stardrive section of a starship. The stardrive section is what's left of the ship after saucer separation.)  
  
u Lt. Hawkins… u  
  
Lt. Hawkins was already on his way to the battle bridge when the call came. He had figured it out very quickly: Impact saucer separation battle bridge = BIG trouble. Actually, he had expected the call right after the impact. It became a habit to know where the captain wanted him before he was actually told where to go. It was no secret that he was the most skilled pilot on the whole ship, so it figured that the captain would want him to aim the guns while he gave the order to shoot. He met the captain as he came out of the turbolift. They entered the battle bridge together; Ensign Perkins was already there at her tactical station, along with CEO (Chief Engineering Officer) Cooper when they entered.  
  
They (the captain and Lieutenant Hawkins) went directly to their stations in the cramped bridge. Captain Ramon immediately gave the order to separate and they watched the underside of the saucer section glide away while the city lights on the planet flashed by. The view was slightly marred by the heat from the friction between the ship and the atmosphere.  
  
"Perkins, put the bad guy on screen. Target their weapons ports. Fire at will."  
  
It was like in a movie: phasers flashed across the screen, hitting the enemy's shields. The enemy shot back, rocking the battle bridge harshly. No one was able to stay on their feet. Which was lucky for Perkins because her console exploded at that moment. The saucer section flew by, blasting the enemy at point-blank from above. Unfortunately, Perkins had hit the wall violently and was unconscious. Cooper immediately moved to examine the fallen crewmember. "She's unconscious and she has a concussion. But I think she'll live." Then she examined what was left of the burning console. "Captain! We lost our phasers! Torpedo rooms four through six are not responding; the rest report extreme damage."  
  
The ship shook again, but just after the hit, the ship rocked even more violently. An explosion was heard in the hallway, just outside of the battle bridge. Marla, knowing that they were doomed, said "Captain, we lost the torpedo rooms. We need to abandon ship now before the warp core goes." Then she went into the hallway to assess the damage. The floor had a huge gash that had taken out some of the walls of the corridor and scorched everything around it. Marla could see straight through the ship, three decks down. Two torpedo rooms had either collapsed or exploded (torpedo malfunction, no doubt), one with two corpses still in it, and the bottom level had parts of three or four other corpses, all half-charred. Bad memories from the Dominion War came back to her.  
  
u On the battle bridge . . . u  
  
"Hail the saucer. On screen." Ramon ordered… "Captain reporting in. Warp core breach is imminent. We are abandoning ship. Stardrive out." The captain slouched in the center seat. "This is it." The captain sighed, sadly, and activated the comm. "All hands abandon ship! I am ramming the Cardies (informal, rude reference to Cardassians) so the saucer will retrieve you! All hands abandon ship!" No one could blame him for the guilt that had settled over him in only a few seconds. The hardest order for a captain to give was 'abandon ship'. "This isn't over," he growled. "Hawkins, take us behind the moon."  
  
u On the Cardassian ship . . . u  
  
"Gul (Cardassian rank equivalent to captain) Hurkin! I intercepted a distress signal! The Federation captain is abandoning ship!" the communication officer announced.  
  
"Which ship?"  
  
"The secondary hull (another possible reference to the stardrive section) has a warp core breach. It's going to the moon."  
  
"Target the saucer. Destroy it."  
  
u Aboard the saucer . . . u  
  
"No way." First officer Steve Boslin had been through a lot, but never had the captain gave the order to abandon ship. Besides, he'd known Captain Ramon too long. There was no way, in hell and high water, that Ramon was giving up like this. They'd fought impossible odds during the Dominion War. There was no way he was giving up that quickly. "Sark, what's the status of the stardrive section?"  
  
"Hull is buckling, integrity maintained at 27%. Engines are online and operating at 50% efficiency but the deuterium output is fluctuating, and the port nacelle (engine pod) is venting (leaking) plasma. Weapons are offline, and the deflector has taken severe damage. It is on course to the moon."  
  
The commander thought about this. When they'd fought the Romulans during the "Prometheus Incident" (refer to Star Trek: Voyager episode "Message in a Bottle". NOTE: The Nebula –class starship that is destroyed by the Romulan-controlled Prometheus is obviously not the Columbia) last year, they'd had a complete systems failure, and the captain still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Hmmm . . . "A ram! He's going to ram the Cardassian, but the crew will be on the moon in escape pods, awaiting rescue! Helm, let's lure the Cardies the hell away from the planet!"  
  
u Aboard the stardrive section . . . u  
  
The crew was scrambling to get to the escape pods on all decks. If you've ever seen Starfleet personnel evacuating from a starship you would think they were school kids (I mean: who has ever seen anyone leave a burning building in an orderly fashion?) In a matter of five or six long minutes, the entire ship was vacant except for five people: Captain Ramon, Lt. Cmdr. Cooper, Ensign Perkins (unconscious), Lt. Hawkins, and, unbeknownst to the battle bridge crew, Ensign Simon Ruben was in engineering, keeping the engines in one piece. The only reason he was still an ensign was that he was a troublemaker. Not as in blowing up a ship; more like deliberately disobeying orders, smart talking, back talking, etc.  
  
Captain Ramon expected this. "Bridge to engineering. Get your butt off this ship, ensign!"  
  
"Captain, I'm the only one on board keeping this ship in one piece so you can ram the Cardies. I'm staying."  
  
"Your court-martial. Bridge out." "Hawkins… ramming speed."  
  
The Cardassian ship loomed closer on the viewscreen at a frightful rate. . .  
  
u Saucer section, USS Columbia Bridge . . . u  
  
"Here they come!"  
  
"Boslin to transporter room 1. Beam everyone off the stardrive section to the bridge when our shields go down. Trust me."  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
"Target the Cardies' engines. Fire at will. Drop shields on my mark . . . "NOW!"  
  
On the screen, the stardrive section suddenly appeared from one side, it exploded violently from impacting with the Cardassian battle cruiser. On the bridge, four spires of light appeared and were soon replaced with the captain, Cooper, Hawkins, and Ensign Ruben appeared; Perkins' unconscious form appeared on the carpeted floor (she was unconscious when she beamed away so she of course she wouldn't be standing now).  
  
(The saucer did not get hit by the debris because the stardrive section impacted on the Cardassian ship's broadside; the saucer was above it.)  
  
"Get her to sickbay." Ramon pointed at Perkins. Then he addressed Simon: "You are confined to your quarters, ensign. Get off my bridge."  
  
Then Marla (Cooper, remember?) moved to her station, and dismissed the technician who had occupied the engineering console; Hawkins returned to his quarters.  
  
Commander Boslin scooted back to the first-officer's chair as Ramon returned to the center seat. "Welcome home, captain. We missed you," he greeted.  
  
"I missed you, too. But half of the crew is waiting for pick-up on the far side of the moon, so let's get going."  
  
"Uhhhh … captain? The debris is drifting toward the planet," Marla announced (for lack of a better word). "We can't let that civilization acquire the technology from the two ships. The cleanest way to clean it up would be to dump antimatter and phaser the large chunks so they burn up faster."  
  
"Damn. Can we avoid using the antimatter?" Ramon asked.  
  
"Not if we intend to keep all of the debris from the inhabitants," she answered nervously, but confidently.  
  
"And the down side to using it?" Ramon noticed that her voice left an unsaid "but" hanging between them.  
  
"We need it to get home, even though the Prime Directive states that we have to sacrifice it."  
  
"Double damn. All right, let's go. Helm, take us in."  
  
They soared back into the atmosphere . . .  
  
u Kagome's house Souta . . . u  
  
He couldn't sleep. The house was different without Kagome around. He stared out his window. "Neechan…" he whispered.  
  
He was still staring when something bright lit up in the sky! A meteor shower? At this time of the year? He thought. Then another… then another! And then a bright star appeared that seemed to static-shock the other meteors, which flashed and disappeared. Huh? Then something VERY bright lit up in the sky. Like fireworks (bright and loud)! Then another! And another, all in rapid succession! "What!??! What's happening?!?!" He was watching matter/antimatter annihilation happening in the atmosphere! A rare display, considering that his world was only advanced to the point of making antimatter one antiproton at a time and at a very high government expense.  
  
Kagome is really missing something . . .  
  
u One hour later . . .  
Saucer section, USS Columbia Deck 1: Conference Lounge u  
  
u En Route to the next closest planet . . . u  
  
So much for going home. Captain Eric Ramon was about to break the bad news to the rest of the crew. He couldn't remember being so depressed in his life. He tapped the comm. "Attention, all personnel. This is your captain speaking." Deep breath. "We do not have many options left." Another deep breath. "We have saved the ship, but we lost the stardrive section. And with it, our warp-core, our antimatter supply, our engines except for impulse, and any chance of getting home in the next eight years. We are in an alien solar system with two class-M worlds (classification of any planet that ranges in description and inhabitability between Earth and Mars; description does NOT include number of natural satellites, which are classified separately.) One world is advanced to its early space-age. Thus, we are not entirely safe from detection anywhere in the system. I am going to scuttle the saucer on the other, less advanced world. We still risk detection by the natives, so I will be posting a duty roster for guards around the ship once we are down. We will be on an inhabitable, Earth-like world, so I suggest you make the most of your time, and don't worry about the atmosphere; it is breathable. Without impulse-drive, it will take us a couple extra days to get to the other planet. I guess we're all in for some extended shore-leave. You will receive daily updates on our position and ETA (Estimated Time to Arrival). Captain out."  
  
======================================================================  
  
If you (reader) are wondering about how/when Perkins goes to sickbay: Dr. Gonzalez and another (nameless) technician come onto the bridge shortly after the end of that paragraph to carry Perkins to sickbay. 


	5. Chapter 3: Inuyasha

Author's Note: this is the first mention of Inuyasha in this story and (unfortunately) it is the last mention of him for a while. This is in part due to the time interval of "The Agency", but is also due to how much else there is to write about other events taking place at the same time.

* * *

CHAPTER 3: Inuyasha  
===============================  
  
Feudal World: Near the well  
Inuyasha . . .  
  
Inuyasha was alone. The sun had gone down a couple hours ago, and the night was clear, if not chilly, the slight breeze making it even colder. Inuyasha was examining Tetsusaiga in the moonlight, its blade reflecting brightly, making the sword seem to have its own internal glow. He didn't mind the cold; he had his firerat coat keeping him warm. The battles he fought, using Tetsusaiga had gotten him couple new shards of Shikon no Tama. And Kagome still has that other shard. Dammit. Why did that hag, Kaede, have to give me the rosary!? Why!? He looked up, at the stars, wondering (and doubting) whether his thoughts had been heard. His father had left the sword for him. If only he could have left a note, or instructions where to go from here. And I can't use Tetsusaiga against Kagome. So much for that idea.  
  
He continued to look up. A loud bang suddenly shattered the calmness of the night! It was followed by a roaring sound, gradually, but quickly, getting louder (like when a jet plane flies over your house, except much louder in this case) filled his ears. His being half-dog didn't help much either; he was bombarded with sounds across the spectrum as the shockwave passed. Some trees nearby crumbled and/or shattered, while others bent over, miraculously remaining intact. His tree vibrated as the shock passed, violently throwing him off of his perch.  
  
A large, bright disk flew straight over his head. Too low to be a shooting star, Inuyasha stared in awe and quickly re-climbed the tree to see where it went. He watched as the thing dipped below the tree line in the distance, a crashing sound following its violent, if not spectacular descent.  
  
Ever since Kikyo's resurrection (Kagome) came along, life has suddenly involved falling out of a lot more trees. WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYY???????????????? (If the word here is too stretched to read: the word is "Why?")  
  
As he watched, he saw the thing stop and it reared up – backwards! And then it stopped! The thing stopped!  
  
What the hell is that? His memory flashed back to all of his encounters with demons armed with Shikon shards and demons before that that hadn't been armed with Shikon shards, but none of them had been like this. They had never been this big, nor had they remained motionless after their arrival.  
  
He began running thru the forest at top speed towards the thing . . .

* * *

Same time Feudal World: Kaede's village  
Kaede . . .  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
The huge lizard demon slithered into the village. Kaede was wrapped tightly in its long tail, helpless. She could neither breathe nor move in the lizard's grip. And if she tried to wiggle to gain elbow space, the grip became tighter. Kaede was surprised that she even had that much strength at her age. The villagers were panicking and running all over the place. Some were holding their ground, armed with bows and arrows, pointlessly looking for a weak spot, but finding none. The lizard kept advancing, destroying everything in its way or just off to the side. Houses collapsed as it lowered its head to eat everyone it could see.  
  
Suddenly, Inuyasha came out of nowhere, Kagome riding on his back, and armed with her own bow and arrows. Inuyasha leapt at the lizard, landing on its head and slashing at anything and everything that looked like part of the lizard demon. Kagome stood on a rooftop, knocking and firing arrows, then reaching for another arrow in her quiver; her speed was almost mechanical! When did she learn to do that? Kaede wanted so badly, to some how help. Then Inuyasha slashed the lizard's tail off, finally releasing Kaede from the claws of asphyxiation, agony, and death (just a metaphor, since it is the lizard's tail).  
  
Now she stood, transfixed as if in a trance, watching the battle, hoping for the best outcome.  
  
The lizard began writhing in agony from Inuyasha and Kagome's combined attacks. It knew it wouldn't be alive much longer. In its death convulsions it opened its mouth for one last, desperate attack: a reddish, glowing circle thing appeared, growing by the sec–– a loud BANG! exploded in her ears; Kaede woke up.  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
It was all a dream–– except for the BANG! Her hut shook violently, as if it were about to collapse around [and/or on] her! There was a commotion coming outside. She went outside to see what the villagers were fretting about. She had a bad feeling that her dream was prophetic.  
  
Outside, she saw villagers running to the middle of the street; she saw some collapsed houses and people trying to look thru the rubble, probably because someone was still inside. A lot of the villagers were looking and pointing at the sky, or having conversations: "What was that?" or "Are you okay?" conversations. Kaede looked around some villagers had donned armor and were preparing for battle. She heard a loud crash behind her, only then realizing her cottage had also been taking damage from the whatever… except that it wasn't a cottage anymore. There was a slight breeze, but that couldn't have been the cause of this. Some nearby trees seemed to have ripped themselves apart. What demon could have done this?  
  
She looked to the sky, as if the answers would be written in flashing, neon letters: "He did it!" or something that would provide some kind of answer. A brilliantly lit, large disk flew overhead, at least fifteen times wider than the full moon at its perigee , and growing quickly in its rapid descent. It looked like it had several bright eyes around its perimeter, mostly white, and unevenly distributed.  
  
It flew across the sky and dipped below the tree line. The shaking had stopped now, but half of the village was ruined. A loud crashing sound was heard from behind the distant trees. The whatever-it-was had had a hard landing… and/or perhaps some other nearby village had also been destroyed when it (disk thing) crashed.  
  
Whatever it was, this village definitely needed some cleaning-up.


	6. Chapter 4: First Thing's First

Star Trek: BWTECS Episode 2 STRANDED!  
  
By: Trekker

* * *

Author's note: I realize that Sloane was previously mentioned as a male character at some previous point in this storyline (or was that somewhere else?...) Anyway, I think that the name befits a female character a little better than a male character, so I will change this little detail. I think I can get away with the excuse that "Sloane" is, in fact a Trill (alien) and since her race has an unusual naming system, I made a mistake and I am correcting it here and now.

turning to Lt. Sloane I dub thee: 'Lura Sloane' I tap her shoulders and head with a ceremonial sword.

Besides, some of you out there want a romance, so... I think I'll tease you a little heh heh heh heh heh

* * *

CHAPTER 4: First Thing's First

Feudal World USS COLUMBIA (saucer section)

"Come in." Captain Ramon was sitting at his desk, head in hands, when Lt. Sloane walked in, followed by Boslin.

Without preamble, Sloane immediately spoke up: "What was a Cardassian warship doing all the way out here?"

"The Cardassians cannot travel freely through Federation space. They must have found another route out here. Even under cloak, they can't make the distance without being detected by some random sensor arrays. Maybe they've been out here longer than we thought they were, and this is their territory now. We could be intruding into their territory," Boslin finished. It was now clear that they all shared the same thought.

"What about a wormhole?" Ramon prompted.

"The Cardies lost everything after the war. One would think that they would have been moving colonists ever since the war ended through that wormhole. We would have detected the traffic a while ago," Sloane answered. Her Russian heritage had a tendency to show through every now and then, even though she was only 1/4 Russian.

"What if they only began using the wormhole very recently? That ship we encountered may have been scouting the sector." Ramon always asked the obvious questions when he could, even when they seemed unimportant.

"There are two things wrong with that. Number 1: That was a battleship that attacked us. Number 2: We would have been able to detect the tachyon traces on bastard's hull as a result of recent passage through a wormhole. Unfortunately, warp travel can remove those traces if the ship is at warp for extensive periods of time. If there is a nearby wormhole, it's pretty far away. Even in subspace," Sloane was doing the talking again.

"Can anybody think of a reason why they would send a battleship this far away from home, despite the fact that they have almost no fleet left?" Ramon was slowly getting frustrated and it was beginning to show through. This was a negative trait in any starship captain, and Ramon knew it. He was definitely improving since his Academy days, though. No one answered. "Let's pipe this through to Starfleet Intelligence. Maybe they have an answer for us."

Ramon was already opening a secure channel to SI on his communications interface. Admiral Nolotai's face appeared on the screen instantly, though the image was a little fuzzy as a result of the lack of signal boosters between Starfleet Command and the middle of nowhere. "Captain Ramon, it is good to see you again. However, now is not a good time to chat. This channel is insecure at this range." The screen turned black again. That was the whole conversation.

"Well, that was brief," commented Boslin when the interface shut off.

Captain Ramon was not in a good mood (not that he had been since the attack). He faced his officers, and said: "Commander, can we launch a probe from here and send a message to the admiral to be transmitted through the nearest subspace communcations array?"

"Yes, we can... but it will take weeks for the message to reach Starfleet Command," replied Commander Boslin.

"We don't have much choice, Steve," Sloane rarely addressed anyone by his or her first name. _Hmmm,_ thought the captain, _What's going on between them?_

"Prepare a probe," ordered the captain. "Launch it at..." he glanced at the time displayed on his computer "0900 hours. Dismissed."


	7. Chapter 5: The Probe

Star Trek: BWTECS Episode 2 Extended Furlough  
  
By: Trekker

* * *

Author's note: I'm sorry this chapter is so short; I was pressed for time, and I will have longer chapters up and running VERY SOON!

* * *

CHAPTER 5: The Big Plan =======================

1 Hour and 30 minutes Later... _USS_ _COLUMBIA_ (Saucer hull): Forward Torpedo Room 1

The probe was launched three hours later, at exactly 0400. The trickiest part was plotting a safe takeoff route through the forest, since the probe was launched from the bottom of (what was left of) the ship. The on-shift ensign had fired the torpedo out of Tube 4, since this tube points toward the back of the saucer (which was slightly tipped forward at the end of chapter 3), after Cmdr. Cooper and another computer-specialist had programmed a course that the probe could take without bumping into any trees. Once it cleared the top of the tree tunnel, it would continue on a vertical path into orbit, and from there it would proceed at warp-speed to the nearest Federation subspace relay, which would then relay the message to Starfleet Intelligence on a secured channel. It would be a long time before that probe would get there, though. Maybe a few weeks, but definitely not right away. The probe would wait at the relay for the return message, and then return to Columbia with Admiral Nolotai's response. Until then, they would just have to wait.

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TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	8. Chapter 6: The Admiral's Response

STAR TREK: Beyond What The Eye Can See  
Episode 2 STRANDED

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Author's Note: I have received the admiral's response and will proceed with the storyline accordingly. After consulting Evl5011, I have acquired his permission to borrow his "Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena" plot. Now, this story takes a twist. Sango's entrance will be delayed for sometime and the summary of this story will be adjusted as needed. For quicker updates, my story is also available is an AWESOME website, and I'm so glad that Ewa has generously gone out of her way to let me add pictures to my FanFic to allow the reader to acquire a mental image of what's going on. For some stupid reason, fanfiction.net doesn't let me use pics and other visual aids, so despite the inconvenient waiting for the next update, Ewa and her website are AWESOME!  
  
THIS STORY NOW TAKES PLACE DURING THE EVENTS OF:  
"THE AGENCY" by Evl5011. There will be no more Inuyasha characters for a while. PLEASE R/R! Enjoy  
  
But enough about that... onto the show!

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Chapter 6: The Admiral's Response  
=============================  
  
Four days later...  
  
The probe dropped out of warp speed and glided smoothly into a geostationary orbit on the daylight side of the Feudal World and began transmitting Admiral Nolotai's response to the USS Columbia, where Captain Ramon received it in his quarters on deck 1.  
  
"Captain Ramon, I have received your message and I am very thankful that you and your crew are still alive after the surprise attack. I have informed Starfleet Command of your plight and they are preparing a joint rescue mission to retrieve you and establish an official Starfleet/Klingon presence in that sector. Starfleet Intelligence shares your suspicions that the Cardassians have ulterior motives for placing a single warship in your area so I have dispatched a ship to investigate the situation behind the Cardassian border.  
In the meantime, your orders are to gather as much information as you can about the strategic import of your new home. You are to file your report when the rescue task force arrives, approximately two weeks from now. At the same time, you must not risk exposure to the population, lest you have a run-in with more Cardassian agents. I recommend that you make your scout teams small, and maintain a security perimeter around your module. Starfleet out."  
  
After it finished its job, the torpedo made a beeline for the Columbia's shuttle bay 1 (which was the only remaining shuttle bay on the entire ship), landing safely, just as its navigational programming had planned. Immediately Ramon's instincts told him something was wrong with the message. "Commander Boslin and Lieutenant Commander Sark, please report to my quarters now," Ramon spoke into his intercom. Within minutes his officers had arrived and were seated across from him, ready to discuss whatever the captain had in mind. "Gentlemen," Ramon began, "I just received Admiral Nolotai's response." His audience responded in unison:  
  
"So soon?" "Already?"  
  
"We shouldn't have heard from HQ for at least another week!" Apparently Ramon's instincts had been correct. This predicament had just gone from 'bad' to 'worse'.  
  
"Apparently," Ramon answered dryly, "Our probe had help. But who could be out here that would help our probe get home, and what are their motives? I want you guys to go to the shuttlebay with a security team and one of Sloane's science teams. I want that probe turned inside-out. Check for tampering, programming alterations, damage, anything that might be out of place. Make a list of possibilities and have it ready to present to me and the rest of the senior staff in two hours.  
  
The doors hissed open and shut as Sark and Boslin made their way out of the room.

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Closing Note: I realize that was also a bit short, but the story still goes on! PLEASE R&R!! I accept anonymous reviews!


	9. Chapter 7: The Incursion

CHAPTER 7: The _Incursion_

The _USS Incursion_ flew through space at warp speed, en route to Deep Space Nine. After several weeks spent dissolving the 'Warden' conspiracy, it was a relief to the crew to be on a simple fact-finding mission in Cardassian space, but losing shore leave was no fun AT ALL.

Admiral Nolotai had been very clear about the secrecy of this mission: just because the Cardassians could not fight anymore, did not mean that someone else might get interested in what the _Incursion_ would discover.

Anyway, _Incursion_ was to pick up three crewmembers at the space station, and then proceed into the Demilitarized Zone, a no-man's-land region on the Federation/Cardassian border disguised as a Ferengi cargo ship.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER . . .

"_Captain, we have arrived at DS9 and are preparing to dock. We are disguised as one of the Norway-class starships._" The call from the bridge was right on schedule. Science officer Ivan Verov was in command during the gamma shift aboard the _Incursion_, and he would keep his command until they had docked.

The whole reason for the _Incursion_ to be disguised was that there were people on the station (such as Quark, the Ferengi bartender) who would tell anyone that the Federation's most Top Secret starship was there **and** _how to get at it_, as long as he got paid. There were more than a few unscrupulous people like him on the station. Deep Space Nine was at the crossroads of several different commercial routes, and it is the only space station that protects the Bajoran wormhole and the interests of ambitious profiteers from the Dominion forces the controlled the space at the other end, which was somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant.

Deep Space Nine was quite busy today, even without the regular commercial traffic traveling through the Bajoran sector. Actually, the traffic had never quite returned to the pre-war norm. The _Incursion_ was cleared for docking at pylon 3, near an _Ambassador_-class starship that was recollecting her crew and loading supplies to prepare for a recovery mission elsewhere in the Alpha Quadrant. Less than one hour later, they were on their way to the Cardassian border, disguised as a non-aligned commercial freighter.

SOMEWHERE BEHIND THE CARDASSIAN BORDER. . .

DISCLAIMER:

The "USS Incursion" and the corresponding crewmembers are trademarks of ACTIVISION as well as Paramount Pictures ® and are [therefore] not my own inventions.

"Inuyasha" and the corresponding characters are also not my inventions… but you already knew that!


	10. Chapter 8: Inuyasha's greed and the gang...

CHAPTER 8: Inuyasha's Greed and the Gang's Starvation

Author's Note: this chapter is just after the final showdown with Chimera (see "Loose Ends" by Evl5011). Inuyasha & co. (with KOUGA) come back! (YAY!!!!)

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER . . .

They were starving. Actually, starving isn't the most accurate word here. How about… "Famished". Hmmm. There's a better word.

They were _famished_. Kagome, Sango, Mirouku, Kouga, Inuyasha, Shippo –– wait a minute. Inuyasha wasn't famished OR starving! If it hadn't been for him, _none_ of them would have been starving! They were too far into unknown territory to go to a nearby village to restock, and they were on their way to investigate Inuyasha's flying saucer that he claimed to have seen almost a month earlier. He only remembered it now because the weapons and explosives that Chimera had at his disposal reminded him of his encounter with the flying thing that blasted through Yura's web so long ago.

"So tell me again, dogturd," Kouga spat. "**_Why the hell did you eat all of the FOOD_**?!?" Kouga was really giving Inuyasha the heat for his crime. Kouga had his wolf pack on the hunt right now, but they hadn't had any success. Inuyasha almost wished that Kagome would 'sit' him so hard that he'd pass out, so he wouldn't have to listen to Kouga's voice.

"Kouga, could you _PLEASE _stop talking about food?" Shippo whined softly. "We're already hungry enough as it is." The little fox demon had already collapsed twice from hunger, so Inuyasha was carrying him.

"Just a little longer," panted Sango. "Just a little farther." They were following a freshwater creek to the top of a mountain so they could get their bearings and locate the nearest village, where they could restock their supplies. She looked at the next overhanging boulder with disdain. Each boulder and outcropping meant one more slope before the top. Sango looked around herself, as though there would be comfort in the environment. On the bright side, the forest that they were passing through provided shade from the relentless sun. The cool breeze from the waterfall was refreshing, the sound of the water splashing on the pool calming for the soul. So, they had stopped for a drink. _But a drink of water will never make up for a steaming plate of hot rice, not to mention a whole meal._

Mirouku, the monk, was sitting on his knees, meditating at the water's edge. It was a very peaceful scene. Shippo was down on his belly, lapping up as much water as he could. If not for his unusually pale complexion, he might have been cute.

Kagome was refilling the canteens with Kouga, while Inuyasha had his whole head under the water, as if he was looking for fish. Maybe he was. Kagome was not interested in fishing here because the water was so shallow that anyone could tell that the fish were way too small to be useful in any way: they were the size of well fed minnows (about the size of your pointer-finger).

When Kagome and Kouga finished refilling the canteens, they were ready to go.

"Miss Kagome," called Mirouku, who was still sitting in meditation. "Why not just send two of us ahead to the top of the mountain. Then they can come back to tell us what they saw."

"Good idea," Kagome replied. "You and …" she paused as she made her decision. "…Kouga. You two can go to the top and have a look around."

About half an hour later, they were there. And they were not alone.

MEANWHILE, AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN . . .

Lieutenant Simmons' patrol, consisting of herself, Lt. (j.g.) Sven ch'Shree, Ensign Walter "Walt" McKaskey, Ensign Sherri Hampton, Ensign Fredrick "Freddy" Schrew (sounds like 'shrew'), and Crewman (1ST Class) Sean "Sharpie" Sharppe were playing it cool, having a fireside cookout for lunch, instead of doing their patrol duty. The captain had not been too harsh when he made his rounds, keeping everyone on their toes, but he had been warning everyone that something or someone was coming; his instincts said so. The scary part was that his instincts tended to be right.

This time seemed different, though. It had been a little over nine weeks since they arrived in this solar system, and four weeks since they crashed. Nothing had happened since then, and no one had come by. Anyway, the guys liked to hang out together during off time. Sometimes they'd go to ten-forward, or someone's quarters, or the holodeck. But this time, they considered themselves lucky: it was nigh a rare occasion that they had a chance to get together planetside. Even the best holo-programs were not nearly as good as the real thing. Their picnic cookout on top of a mountain was the perfect evidence if they ever needed to make a case of the issue. Their campfire was blazing nicely, and the food was turning out better than they had expected. Their orders were to remain on guard duty for the next six hours, making sure no one came anywhere near the remains of the _Columbia_ until they were safe on the other side of the Federation border. Of course, after the first four days of humdrum guard-duty, they were lulled into a false sense of security. They still had their phaser rifles with them, because that's SOP for security teams, but those were lying five feet away at the foot of a nearby tree. An observer would only be able to tell that they were guarding the saucer because they wore camouflage outfits.

None of them had expected to see anyone other than themselves.

KOUGA . . .

When Kouga reached a spot where he could see the other side of the mountain, he couldn't believe his eyes. Mirouku was right behind him, but Kouga forgot he was even there. They were both gaping at the huge, saucer lying in the valley below them.

"Oh my gosh," mumbled Kouga. This thing was bigger than anything he'd ever seen before in his whole life! It spanned the width of the valley, and was neatly wedged into the opposing mountainsides of the valley about 100 feet below! Mirouku and Kouga were speechless at the sight of it. The saucer was easily as wide as the length of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier including the flight deck (a nuclear carrier has a 4-acre flight deck positioned 6 or 7 stories above the ocean surface. RESOURCE: http:www.navy.mil)!

All of these thoughts and sights were forgotten when the delicious smell of roasting shishkabob came wafting downwind right to them.


	11. Chapter 9: The Confrontation

CHAPTER 10: Seconds, please!

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"Food-food-food-food-food-food-food-food-food-food-food-food–– FOOD!" Shippo shrieked as he tripped over Ensign Hampton and sailed over the fire pit––

Yes- "shrieked" is definitely the right word here, and yes: Shippo sailed straight over the fire. Get it? _Ship… sailed _! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! _Bad-dum psshhh!_

––tackling poor Crewman Sharppe who was just about to stand up to see who was shouting "food-food-food!"

_BOOM! "OOOF!" "OUCH!" "GOTCHA!" "HEY!"_

Sherri Hampton did not like hitting her face on the rocks around the campfire. She recovered almost instantly and reached for the type-II phaser on her belt. She was about to raise it when she saw that the newcomer was the size of a large stuffed doll,and was already pinned to the ground by Sharppe and Simmons. Freddy had dashed for the rifles, and Sven, being the Andorian that he was, had immediately (and I do mean _immediately_) positioned himself to block whoever may have followed Shippo. And none too soon.

Andorians are inherently violent and have short emotional fuses. Sven had somehow managed to get some control over that, and that control had contributed to his early promotion (Captain Ramon had specifically mentioned that at Sven's promotion ceremony in 2374). But that didn't make him immune to anger-explosions; it made him a reservoir, his emotions the water. And he hated being ambushed. When he tried to prove his skill with the phaser rifle in the jungle-scenario holo-program, he counterattacked an unexpected ambush by using the rifle as a staff. The computer failed him when it registered few phaser hits against the projected targets; Sven beat the crap out of the holograms with the butt of the rifle instead of firing it at a wide-dispersion setting like the program was designed to detect. His normally blue face was violet with anger when he blasted off at the computer techie who made the program. After being restrained by security personnel, and having a talk with both the ship's counselor and the captain, followed by a year on probation, he finally learned some self-control. After the Breen assault on Earth within a year of his first promotion, he had become somewhat paranoid and never went anywhere without a phaser rifle if he could get away with it.

Now, four years later, his paranoia remained unchanged. When Shippo made his entrance, Sven was ready to jump. And jump, he did.

Inuyasha was right behind Shippo all the way with Kagome riding on his back and Kouga on his flank ("on his flank" right next to him OR just behind him and to the side). Sango and Mirouku were barely keeping up.

Shippo is unable to use his fox tricks because of his overwhelming hunger. 

"Stop where you're standing!" Sven snarled at Inuyasha and Kouga, both of whom looked… well… disheveled (I like big words) and gaunt, but tough nonetheless. Sven knew he was outnumbered 2-1, but an Andorian can take on uneven odds.

"Out of the way, buster. We're hungry!" Kouga was pissed that this little blue creature with antennae standing in front of him thought it could stop them. He swung at Sven, who stepped back just in time. Kouga and Inuyasha advanced on him. Cancel that: _Kouga_ advanced on him, while Inuyasha feinted and moved in toward the campfire where the food-smell was coming from. Two of the people wearing the camo-jumpsuits moved to intercept him, wielding devices that sort of looked like the weapons that the weirdoes-in-black (the Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena agents) were using a week ago. Inuyasha remembered how they had bested him using long poles and things that Kagome called 'guns'. But these people were tense and ready, unlike the weirdoes back then who seemed more self-confident or scared than anything else. _This is new_, Inuyasha thought.

"Wait!" Kagome called. Her voice was notably weaker and her blue eyes echoed her desperation. Kouga looked up when he heard Kagome's voice––

––and Sven took advantage of that moment to nail Kouga in the gut with his fist. Kouga doubled-over with a grunt. Sven didn't know this, but Kouga's normally satisfied stomach was empty (and, therefore, contracted), so the solid impact of his punch went right through, and hit another weakened muscle. Meanwhile, Freddy, Hampton, and McKaskey turned their attention to Inuyasha just as Mirouku and Sango caught up. "We're only looking for food! We haven't eaten in days! Can you help us?" That got everyone's attention. All of the Starfleeters looked at each other for a moment. Simmons responded first after secretly scanning each one of the newcomers with her tricorder, which showed that their vital signs (heartbeat, breathing, adrenaline level, etc.) were erratic. Simmons, looked each one of them in the eye, and she knew instantly that they were telling the truth. She saw the cold the hands of hunger and desperation gripping each and every one of them. Finally, she spoke.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Simmons said casually. "McKaskey and Hampton, prep six kabobs!" she barked over her shoulder. "Sharppe! Freddy! Get these guys some salad while they're waiting!" Her commands were followed by a series of 'Yessirs'. Kagome was suspicious at the lieutenant's sudden friendliness, though.

Mirouku was staring at the lieutenant and barely heard what she said. She was tall and commanding with a strong, athletic build. Her straight, light-brown hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders and around her breasts. Her waist–– _SMACK!_

_Dumbass pervert_. Sango felt insulted when she noticed Mirouku doing his eye-thing again.She grabbed him by the ear and dragged him until they were behind a large tree several meters away, where she slapped him a few more times and told him off for gawking at the hostess just after she saved them from starving to death.

And while all that was going on, Lt. ch'Shree had taken the time to scan each guest with the tricorder. His scans confirmed the following:

The girls were human, albeit undernourished

The guy with the earrings was also human but he had an anomalous right hand.

The redheaded little one was… unusual to say the least; he had foxy attributes, but Sven did not need a tricorder to figure that out.

The one with the white hair and the one with the body armor had attributes that were way off the scale for humans:

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Body Temperature: 313.79 degrees KELVIN

Blood Pressure: 240 over 180

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These readings (of Inuyasha and Kouga) easily matched the Klingon norm. (And so the story begins) _But why would there be Klingon agents on this side of the Federation?_ Sven made a mental note to report this to Captain Ramon as soon as reasonably possible. At least the Klingons were allies with the Federation. Maybe they had their own intelligence service scouting this region for some other purpose. Who knows?

Lunch was delicious, and the Starfleeters were very hospitable to their unexpected guests. Until the end of lunch, and that's when things got interesting…

"Well, I guess we'll be going now. Thanks for lunch, guys!" Kagome was quite content to have her backpack restocked with munchies, and her stomach restocked with food. It had been a while since she had eaten anything that resembled _REAL_ food! (keyword: resembled. You know what they say about replicators food right? "It's just not the same as the real thing") Everyone said good-bye and the gang went on their way.

They hadn't gone far when Kagome felt something slam her in the back of her head. She tried to turn around but her body didn't respond. She tried to run but her legs didn't work! She wanted to scream, but her throat seemed to have closed up! She felt a breeze on her face as her eyes closed involuntarily, but she was unconscious before she hit the ground, dropping Shippo and crushing him with her body. Mirouku and Sango went down similarly at about the same time. Inuyasha's hair dissipated the blast before it could affect his nervous system, but when he turned around, his unprotected face took another hit, and he went down backwards. Kouga was hit squarely in the neck; he never had a chance. When Shippo tried to wriggle out from under Kagome's weight, a hand grabbed him. He felt something tickle his neck, and then everything went black.

As the Starfleeters administered hyposprays that would block (NOT "erase" because that process could permanently damage someone's brain) the newcomers' memories of this event, Sven ch'Shree revealed his findings. Simmons decided against blocking Kouga and Inuyasha's memories, because if they were Klingon agents, they might need those memories. They couldn't just leave the locals where they were now sleeping. Transporter relay microchips had been hidden in the hyposprays. When the order was given, the natives and the girl in the school uniform vanished in a sparkle of blue light…

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
